Newtons return from Zimbabwe mission trip

Victoria Falls

Pastor LaVoy and Joseph Newton are back from a month-long mission trip. Contributed photo.

Special to The Record

Lighthouse Church of God, 1230 Kings Estate Road, will have a special service this Sunday at 10:30 a.m. to celebrate the return of their pastor, LaVoy Newton and son, Joseph, after a month-long mission’s trip to Zimbabwe. The two have prepared a video, pictures and have many stories to tell of their adventure. The public is invited to this service. There is no charge for admission. For directions or the service go to lcog.info or call 797-6996.

The Newtons’’ trip to Africa marks the first time that Joseph Newton, 18, has been on a mission’s trip. He is 18 2012 graduate of Beacon of Hope Christian School and currently attends St. Johns River State College, studying for a degree in business and is deeply involved in the ministry of the church through worship, media and youth ministry.

He is employed an assistant manager at Chick-fil-A

Pastor LaVoy returned to the mission field after a five-year hiatus. He had been on seven prior trips including three trips to India, two to Nicaragua as well as trips to Honduras and Guatemala.

The invitation to come to Africa came last November from the Rev. M. Sebenzo who is the national overseer of the Full Gospel Church of God in Zimbabwe. The trip included traveling the country and holding pastors’ conferences. Pastor LaVoy gave the pastors a copy of his new book, “War in the Heavens — Overcoming the Enemy Through Spiritual Warfare.” The book was just released and is now available on Amazon.com, at Lighthouse Church of God as well as a few other outlets.

This is the first book by Newton, who has now been the lead pastor of Lighthouse for the past 21 years.

The Newtons had evangelistic opportunities leading 70 people to faith in Jesus Christ, and the two also distributed 114 New Testament Bibles on their trip.

While traveling the country, this father and son team had the opportunity to do some sightseeing and touring. Highlights included visiting the mountains at the border of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The temperatures were colder on their trip, as it is winter now in Southern Africa and so the temperatures ranged mainly between 40 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Another highlight included a tour of the ruins of Great Zimbabwe. This was a special area and is the reason the country was named Zimbabwe, “houses of stones,” after they gained their independence from Great Britain in 1980. The fascinating structure of the mountains and hills full of stones can be found in various parts of the country. They also had the opportunity to visit the Chinhoyi Caves. This adventure took them deep under the surface and included a wondrous sight of deep blue waters.

Victoria Falls

The most spectacular sight on the whole trip, says Pastor LaVoy, was a visit to Victoria Falls, one of seven wonders of the natural world. This water fall is on the border of Zambia and was named by the famed English missionary and explorer David Livingston. A statue of Livingston overlooks one of the fall areas.

Livingston is created not only with opening Africa to the gospel of Jesus Christ, but also helping change the opinions about slavery in England. With the help of William Wilberforce the laws were changed to outlaw the slave trade industry. The original name of the falls was Mosi-Oa-Tunya which means “the Smoke that Thunders.” Victoria Falls is considered to be the largest waterfall in the world even though it is not the tallest nor the widest. The official size is determined by the overall amount of water that falls allowing it to become the largest sheet of falling water. The Newtons spent a number of hours enjoying beauty and taking pictures.

It was also a great spot, says Pastor LaVoy, to reflect on life and enjoy the beauty of the Great Creator, Who had called them on the trip.

The most adventurous part of the trip was the safari ride. Pastor LaVoy and Joseph had two opportunities for such rides including one just outside of Victoria Falls. That ride included close up sightings with many animals, but by far the most exciting were a spotting of a giraffe and a group of about16 elephants that just before sunset decided to cross the path to the river. Both sightings were caught on film and video.

The other opportunity was a tour of a Lion Park just outside of the capital city of Harare. This included a lioness chasing the vehicle that they were traveling with as well as sightings of impala, hyena, lions, monkeys, baboons, wildebeest and other various animals.

Pastor LaVoy and Joseph share more of their visit during Sunday’s gathering.